Dave Zastudil’s career might have been over, done in by painful right knee tendonitis and the invasive surgery needed to repair in halfway through the 2009 season.
It cost Zastudil all of the 2010 season and only the Cardinals’ call late in training camp of 2011 got him back on a roster. From there, Zastudil has made it work.
Three years with the Cardinals post-rehab have been productive, with the last two the best two of Zastudil’s 11 NFL seasons. It was
enough for the Cardinals want to bring back the 35-year-old and keep him from free agency, as Zastudil agreed to a new two-year contract Tuesday.
Zastudil averaged 45.7 yards a punt and for a second straight season, averaged better than 40 yards (40.1) as a net average. He also had 35 punts downed inside the 20, or 45 percent of his kicks – bettering the 41 percent of punts inside the 20 he had in 2012 when he set an NFL record with 46 such boots.
Zastudil also serves as the Cardinals’ holder on field goals and extra points.